The present invention discloses a general protocol for a service control point (SCP) in a network system. The network system comprises at least one first type network element (SCP) and at least one second type network element (SSP) for transmitting messages to the first type network elements (SCP), respectively using a specific protocol. The first type network elements (SCP) are able to process the received protocol-specific messages and to transmit messages to said second type network elements by using service logic programs (SLP). In addition, the system comprises a definition means (1) for defining protocol definitions related to one message into a general protocol definition for the message, and for providing general protocol definitions for all possible transmitted messages for each of the first type network elements (SCP). Each of the first type network elements (SCP) in the system comprises a conversion means (2) for converting the provided general protocol definitions into one general message set that is used in the respective first type network element (SCP), and a selection means (3) for selecting converted protocol definitions in the converted general protocol definition for a received protocol-specific message and for a message to be transmitted by the respective first type network element out of the general message set, and for providing the selected converted protocol definitions for the received message to the service logic programs (SLP) for processing the received message, and for transmitting the selected converted protocol definitions for the message to be transmitted.
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16. A method of processing protocol-specific messages in a network element of a first type, wherein messages are transmitted to said first type network element by at least one network element of a second type, each of said second type network elements using a specific protocol of a plurality of protocols for transmitting the messages, and wherein, by using service logic programs included in said first type network element, the protocol-specific messages can be processed by said first type network element and messages can be transmitted by said first type network element to said second type network elements, said method comprising:
defining protocol definitions of said plurality of protocols, which protocol definitions are related to one message, into a general protocol definition for the message,
providing general protocol definitions for all possible messages transmitted by said second type network elements and said first type network element for said first type network element,
converting the provided general protocol definitions into one general message set that is used in said first type network element, so that the service logic programs register to only this one general message set,
selecting converted protocol definitions in the converted general protocol definition for a received protocol-specific message and for a message to be transmitted by the first type network element out of the general message set, and
providing the selected converted protocol definitions for the received message to said service logic programs for processing the received message, and transmitting the selected converted protocol definitions for the message to be transmitted.
31. A apparatus, comprising:
at least one network element of a first type;
at least one network element of a second type for transmitting messages to said first type network elements, each of said second type network elements using a specific protocol of a plurality of protocols for transmitting the messages,
wherein said first type network elements are configured to process the received protocol-specific messages and to transmit messages to said second type network elements by using service logic programs included in each of said first type network elements; and
defining means for defining protocol definitions of said plurality of protocols, which protocol definitions are related to one message, into a general protocol definition for the message, and for providing general protocol definitions for all possible messages transmitted by said second type network elements and said first type network elements for each of said first type network elements,
wherein each of said first type network elements comprises
a conversion means for converting the provided general protocol definitions into one general message set that is used in the respective first type network element, so that the service logic programs register to only this one general message set, and
a selection means for selecting converted protocol definitions in the converted general protocol definition for a received protocol-specific message and for a message to be transmitted by the respective first type network element out of the general message set, and for providing the selected converted protocol definitions for the received message to said service logic programs for processing the received message, and for transmitting the selected converted protocol definitions for the message to be transmitted.
1. A network system comprising:
at least one network element of a first type;
at least one network element of a second type for transmitting messages to said first type network elements, each of said second type network elements using a specific protocol of a plurality of protocols for transmitting the messages,
wherein said first type network elements are configured to process the received protocol-specific messages and to transmit messages to said second type network elements by using service logic programs included in each of said first type network elements; and
a definition unit configured to define protocol definitions of said plurality of protocols, which protocol definitions are related to one message, into a general protocol definition for the message, and configured to provide general protocol definitions for all possible messages transmitted by said second type network elements and said first type network elements for each of said first type network elements,
wherein each of said first type network elements comprises
a conversion unit configured to convert the provided general protocol definitions into one general message set that is used in the respective first type network element, so that the service logic programs register to only this one general message set, and
a selection unit configured to select converted protocol definitions in the converted general protocol definition for a received protocol-specific message and for a message to be transmitted by the respective first type network element out of the general message set, and configured to provide the selected converted protocol definitions for the received message to said service logic programs for processing the received message, and configured to transmit the selected converted protocol definitions for the message to be transmitted.
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17. The method according to
defining common protocol definitions in the general protocol definitions, the common protocol definitions being common for several protocol definitions.
18. The method according to
defining protocol definitions of a protocol for a mobile network and protocol definitions of a protocol for a fixed network in the general protocol definitions.
19. The method according to
providing an identifier for each converted protocol definition of the respective converted general protocol definitions in the general message set, which identifier indicates to which protocol of said plurality of protocols each converted protocol definition belongs.
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This application is a continuation of international application serial number PCT/EP99/00178, filed 14 Jan. 1999.
The present invention relates to a network system and a method for processing protocol-specific messages in a network element, such as a service control point, and in particular to a general protocol for a service control point.
In an intelligent network system, Service Control Point (SCP) network elements provide a platform for executing Service Logic Programs (SLP) to implement value-added services in the intelligent network system. Other network elements in the intelligent network system, so called Service Switching Point (SSP) network elements are linked for call processing purposes to the SCP network elements.
In particular, the SCP network elements handle messages, i.e. operation instructions, which are communicated from the SSP network elements. However, the SSP network elements use different signaling protocols such as Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) protocols for transmitting/receiving the messages towards/from the SCP network elements. Therefore, the SCP network elements must be able to process the different signaling protocols. For example, these protocols can be the Intelligent Network Application Protocol (INAP) with various manufacturer specific extensions or versions such as fixed network extensions and mobile network extensions, the Mobile Application Protocol (MAP) and the Customized Application Protocol for Mobile Networks (CAMEL). Hence, the SCP network elements must be able to handle phone calls in mobile networks and in fixed networks.
In processing the messages, the SCP network elements use the service logic programs which, for example, can be programmed by means of a Service Logic Execution Language (SLEL) used in Hewlett Packard SCP implementation.
Every new protocol or protocol version is imported to the SCP network elements as a new message set. Message sets are made by converting protocol definitions such as ASN.1 definitions of the protocols using a Message Set Compiler (MSC) or an other ASN.1 compiler. Different message sets are created for the different protocols or protocol versions, respectively. The different message sets are separated by message set name and version number. The message set name and version number are also used in service logic program code in order to indicate which service logic program belongs to which message set. The service logic programs use this information to select the appropriate encoding and decoding routines for the message sets.
Thus, if a service logic program is registered to a message set named INAP which message set is not installed in the respective SCP network element, it is not possible to compile the service logic program in the SCP network element.
Furthermore, if the number or version of protocols processed in the SCP network elements changes, the service logic programs registered to the protocols are immediately affected. Or if an old protocol is removed from the SCP network elements, the code of the service logic programs registered to this protocol has to be modified and recompiled.
Since the amount of services in the SCP network elements is very high, changes or modifications to the service logic programs require a lot of work.
According to the present invention, this object is achieved by a network system which comprises at least one network element of a first type (SCP) and at least one network element of a second type (SSP) for transmitting messages to the first type network elements, wherein each of the second type network elements uses a specific protocol of a plurality of protocols for transmitting the messages. In this system, the first type network elements are able to process the received protocol-specific messages and to transmit messages to the second type network elements by using service logic programs (SLP) which are included in each of the first type network elements. The system further comprises a definition means for defining protocol definitions of the plurality of protocols, which protocol definitions are related to one message, into a general protocol definition for the message, and for providing general protocol definitions for all possible messages transmitted by the second type network elements and the first type network elements for each of the first type network elements. In addition, each of the first type network elements in the system comprises a conversion means for converting the provided general protocol definitions into one general message set that is used in the respective first type network element, and a selection means for selecting converted protocol definitions in the converted general protocol definition for a received protocol-specific message and for a message to be transmitted by the respective first type network element out of the general message set, and for providing the selected converted protocol definitions for the received message to said service logic programs for processing the received message, and for transmitting the selected converted protocol definitions for the message to be transmitted.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by a method for processing protocol-specific messages in a network element of a first type (SCP), wherein messages are transmitted to the first type network element by at least one network element of a second type (SSP), each of the second type network elements using a specific protocol of a plurality of protocols for transmitting the messages. Using service logic programs (SLP) which are included in the first type network element, the protocol-specific messages can be processed by the first type network element and messages can be transmitted by the first type network element to the second type network elements. This method comprises a definition step, in which protocol definitions of the plurality of protocols, which protocol definitions are related to one message, are defined into a general protocol definition for the message, and a provision step, in which general protocol definitions for all possible messages transmitted by the second type network elements and the first type network element are provided for the first type network element. In addition, the method comprises a conversion step, in which the provided general protocol definitions are converted into one general message set that is used in the first type network element, a selection step, in which converted protocol definitions in the converted general protocol definition for a received protocol-specific message and for a message to be transmitted by the first type network element are selected out of the general message set, and a provision step, in which the selected converted protocol definitions for the received message are provided to the service logic programs for processing the received message and in which the selected converted protocol definitions for the message to be transmitted are transmitted.
According to the present invention, the service logic programs register only to the general message set. Changes in the general message set are not visible to the service logic programs. From the viewpoint of the service logic programs, the number of used protocols does not change and the protocol name is stable.
Further developments of the present invention are defined in the respective appended subclaims.
In the following, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described by taking into account the accompanying drawings.
According to
In
The service logic programs shown in
In the following, the creation of the general message set is described by referring to
In general, protocol definitions such as ASN.1 definitions provided by the definition means 1 shown in
In order to obtain the general message set as shown in
This is accomplished by the definition means 1. In the definition means 1, several ASN.1 protocol definitions are combined into one definition. This is shown in
Then, the general ASN.1 definitions for all possible PDUs 1, 2, . . . are supplied to the SCP network elements in which they are converted into the general message set via the ASN.1 compiler 2 or an other ASN.1 compiler and are rendered operative at the SCP network elements.
Annex 1 shows an example of a general ASN.1 definition for one PDU for several protocol versions. In this general definition, INAP message (PDU) “ConnectToResource” is defined for a mobile network and a fixed network, i.e. there are definitions for the mobile network and definitions for the fixed network. In addition, some definitions in the general definition are common for both protocols.
As can be seen from this example, the message name “ConnectToResource” exists in INAP for fixed network and in INAP for mobile network. That is, same message names (PDU names) can exist in several protocols or protocol versions.
Thus, a tool is required for separating the messages and for selecting the appropriate ASN.1 definitions in the general ASN.1 definition for the respective message out of the general message set, which is transmitted to or from an SSP network element using a specific protocol or protocol version.
As can be seen from
For separating the messages, the general protocol handler 3 provides an identifier such as a prefix for the converted ASN.1 definitions in the general message set. Since the filling of the PDUs, i.e. the filling of the general ASN.1 definitions is effected by the general protocol handler 3, the identifier is not visible for the service logic programs.
With respect to
Moreover, with respect to
For example, if the SCP network element transmits the message “ConnectToResouce” to an SSP network element handling messages using the INAP for mobile network, the general protocol handler 3 selects the definition for mobile network INAP in the general protocol definition as set out in Annex 1 for encoding the protocol independent message “ConnectToResourcet”.
With respect to
This enables the service logic programs in the SCP network elements to register to only one message set, i.e. the general message set. Hence, changes in the message set are not visible to the service logic programs. Since there is only one protocol, i.e. a general protocol, from the viewpoint of the service logic programs, the number of used protocols does not change and the name of the protocol is stable.
In the above-described intelligent network system, the message set can, for example, be implemented as a header file in which the encoding and decoding routines are algorithmic or software functions, or as a dynamic linkable library such as a DLL file in Windows systems. Furthermore, the service logic programs can be implemented as executable binaries or code which is interpreted in runtime. The ASN.1 definitions are translated into the general message set and are used in all network elements which are going to communicate with each other, wherein the implementation can differ in the network elements but the definition has to be the same. In case of different definitions, the network elements would not understand each other. Finally, according to the intelligent network system, the general protocol handler is implemented as an executable binary or code which is interpreted in runtime. The general protocol handler is compiled by means of the message set or uses the message set as a dynamic library.
The present invention is not limited to the use in connection with protocols for mobile and fixed intelligent networks for processing phone calls but can be used in every protocol stack where ASN.1 is used in the representation layer, for example in connection with SNMPs (Simple Network Management Protocols) in LANs (Local Area Networks). That is, the intelligent network IN according to the above description can be replaced by a TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) network which comprises network management stations and network elements. The network management stations execute management applications which monitor and control the network elements, wherein connectivity is provided by a TCP/IP stack. The network elements contain management agents which are responsible for performing the network management functions requested to them, wherein SNMP is used to communicate management information between the management applications and the agents. For example, a message transmitted by a network element can be a PDU “GetRequest” corresponding to the above-mentioned PDU “ConnectToResource”.
In this context,
While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications and applications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Example of a general ASN.1 definition for message (PDU) “ConnectToResource”:
DEFINITIONS::=
BEGIN
-- Definition for Mobile network INAP
MobileConnectToResourceArg ::= SEQUENCE {
ResourceAddress CHOICE {
IpRoutingAddress [0] IPRoutingAddress,
None [3] NULL
},
MobileAddition INTEGER (1. . . 255),
extensions [4] ExtensionArray OPTIONAL,
}
-- Definition for Fixed network INAP
FixedConnectToResourceArg ::= SEQUENCE {
ResourceAddress CHOICE {
IpRoutingAddress [0] IPRoutingAddress,
None [3] NULL
},
extensions [4] ExtensionArray OPTIONAL,
}
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Common definitions for both protocols
IPRoutingAddress ::= CalledPartyNumber
ExtensionArray ::= SEQUENCE SIZE (1. . .numOfExtensions)
OF ExtensionField
ExtensionField ::= SEQUENCE {
ExType INTEGER (1. . . 255),
Criticality ENUMERATED {
Ignore (0),
Abort (1)
} DEFAULT ignore,
value [1] ANY DEFINED by exType
}
END
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